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jakes

1 American  
[jeyks] / dʒeɪks /

noun

(usually used with a plural verb)

  1. an outdoor privy; outhouse.

  2. a toilet or bedpan.

Jakes 2 American  
[jeyks] / dʒeɪks /

noun

  1. John, 1932–2023, U.S. novelist noted for historical fiction: pen names include Jay Scotland.

jakes British  
/ dʒeɪks /

noun

  1. an archaic slang word for lavatory

  2. dialect human excrement

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of jakes

1525–35; < French Jacques, proper name; john

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.